Study Finds Discriminatory Jury Selection in Southern States by Derek Gilna A study by the Equal Justice Initiative, a non-profit legal organization based in Montgomery, Alabama, has found widespread discrimination in jury selection in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee. The discriminatory practices …
Expanded Eligibility for New York Medical Parole Has Little Effect by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke In April 2009, New York passed a statutory amendment that expanded the state’s compassionate release program for terminally ill prisoners. The amendment permitted medical parole for prisoners convicted of certain violent crimes who were …
Alabama’s Indigent Defense System “Perfect Storm” for Ineffective Assistance by David Reutter by David M. Reutter “Alabama’s right-to-counsel system has the ‘perfect storm’ of characteristics that virtually guarantee ineffective assistance of counsel to the poor,” observed David Carroll, research director for the National Legal Aid & Defender Association. Carroll was …
Behler v. Grivois, Settlement, CO., Jail, Excessive Force, 2010 RELEASE IN FULL OF ALL CLAIMS AND RIGHTS AND WAIVER OF SUBROGATION FOR AND IN CONSIDERATION OF Eighty Thousand and No/lOOths Dollars ($80,000.00), receipt and sufficiency of which is acknowledged, BROCK JOHN BEHLER releases and forever discharges DENNIS GRIVOIS, his heirs, …
Prison Incident and Investigative Reports Must Be Disclosed Under Alabama’s Open Records Act by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Alabama Supreme Court affirmed a trial court’s summary judgment order that held incident and investigative reports created by the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) are subject to the state’s …
$750,000 Settlement in Alabama Prisoner’s Heat Death by A $750,000 settlement was paid to the mother of an Alabama mentally ill prisoner who died as the result of exposure to extreme heat while on psychotropic medication. Just four days after his admission to Kilby Correctional Facility (KCF), prisoner Farron Barksdale, …
Alabama Ends Policy Barring HIV+ Prisoners from Work Release by After more than two decades of intense advocacy by the ACLU, in August 2009 the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) agreed to end its practice of prohibiting prisoners with HIV from participating in work release programs. PLN has previously reported …
$91,059.83 in Damages, Fees and Costs Awarded to Alabama Prisoner Beaten by Guard by An Alabama federal jury has awarded $20,000 in compensatory and punitive damages to a man beaten by a guard at the Lauderdale County Detention Center (LCDC). The lawsuit alleged that LCDC guard Philip King was aware …
Former Alabama Judge Acquitted of Paddling, Sexually Abusing Jail Prisoners by Mark Wilson On March 27, 2009, former Mobile County, Alabama Circuit Court Judge Herman Thomas was indicted on 57 charges for allegedly checking young male prisoners out of the Metro Jail, taking them to his office, and paddling them …
Alabama Guards Get Qualified Immunity for Failing to Prevent Rape of 11-Year-Old Prisoner by The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeal has held that guards are entitled to qualified immunity on federal claims, but not to Alabama state-agent immunity on state-law claims, in a lawsuit involving the rape of an eleven-year-old …
Clerk Erred in Refusing to File Unsigned 28 U.S.C. § 2255 Motion by Clerk Erred in Refusing to File Unsigned 28 U.S.C. § 2255 Motion The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that it was error for a district court clerk to refuse to file an unsigned …
Alabama Raises Rates Charged for Prisoner Labor by In October 2007, the Alabama Department of Corrections (DOC) began charging other government entities for prisoner labor, such as work crews that pick up highway trash. With the start of the next fiscal year on October 1, 2009, the DOC will raise …
No Qualified Immunity for Pepper Spraying Alabama Prisoner; Case Settles After Remand by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that pepper spraying a prisoner, keeping him in a small cell for longer than necessary to gain his compliance, and not allowing him to …
$717,000 Award to Motorist Injured in High Speed Police Chase by An Alabama jury awarded $717,217 to a motorist injured when a vehicle involved in a high speed chase with police crashed into him. On May 5, 2005, a Birmingham Police Officer began pursuit of Brandon Bearden, who was driving …
Reverend Sues, Wins Right to Register Alabama Prisoners to Vote by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Alabama Dept. of Corrections (ADOC) has agreed to let Reverend Kenneth Glasgow enter state prisons to register prisoners to vote. The settlement agreement came after the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) filed …
Federal Prisoner's Negligent Tumor Diagnosis Results In Partial Colon Loss by Former Alabama federal prisoner John Trevor brought a federal tort action against the United States in 2002 after personnel at the Federal Corrections Center (FCC) at Talladega failed to diagnose and treat a cancerous tumor. The $1 million suit …
Alabama Prisoner Entitled to Hearing on Full Jail Credit by The Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama has held that a prisoner is entitled to an evidentiary hearing on his claim that he was not awarded sufficient jail credit. After the Jefferson Circuit Court summarily denied his habeas petition, Alabama …
$1.5 Million Settlement in Alabama Probation Officer's Sex Scandal by $1.5 Million Settlement in Alabama Probation Officer's Sex Scandal A $1.5 million dollar settlement has been reached in a lawsuit claiming an Alabama probation officer raped a female probationer and made inappropriate sexual advances towards eleven other female probationers. The …
Maynor v. Morgan County, AL, Order Denying Motion, jail food, 2009 Case 5:01-cv-00851-UWC Document 103 Filed 01/27/2009 FILED Page 1 of 2 2009 Jan-27 AM 07:26 U.S. DISTRICT COURT N.D. OF ALABAMA IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA NORTHEASTERN DIVISION JOHNNY MAYNOR, ANTHONY MURPHREE, …
Maynor v. Morgan County, AL, Ruling, jail food, 2009 Case 5:01-cv-00851-UWC Document 94 Filed 01/09/2009 FILED Page 1 of 5 2009 Jan-09 AM 10:47 U.S. DISTRICT COURT N.D. OF ALABAMA IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA NORTHEASTERN DIVISION ) ) ) ) Plaintiffs, ) …
